Prenatal Chiropractic Care in Macomb, MI
Pregnancy changes your body quickly. As your baby grows, your center of gravity shifts forward, the curve of your lower back changes, your posture adapts, and the muscles supporting your back and pelvis begin working differently. At the same time, hormonal changes loosen the ligaments around your joints in preparation for birth. Together, these changes place additional stress on the lower back, hips, pelvis, sacroiliac joints and surrounding muscles.
Dr. Pavel Bence, DC, CCWP has more than 40 years of chiropractic experience and provides gentle prenatal chiropractic care designed around the changing needs of an expectant mother. Adjustments are adapted for each stage of pregnancy with the goal of keeping the spine and pelvis moving properly, reducing unnecessary stress on the body and helping mothers stay as comfortable and active as possible throughout their pregnancy.
You do not have to wait until pregnancy becomes uncomfortable to begin care. Some women come to Bence Chiropractic Wellness Center because back or pelvic pain has already started. Others include chiropractic as part of their prenatal wellness routine so Dr. Bence can address changes in posture, movement and spinal mechanics as their pregnancy progresses.
Frequently Asked Questions About Prenatal Chiropractic Care
Is Chiropractic Care Safe During Pregnancy?
Yes. Chiropractic care is adapted for pregnancy and uses gentle techniques that accommodate your changing body. As your belly grows, Dr. Bence modifies positioning and adjustment techniques so there is no direct pressure on the abdomen. Your pregnancy, health history and current symptoms are reviewed before care begins, and treatment is individualized throughout each stage of pregnancy. If symptoms suggest a pregnancy-related concern rather than a musculoskeletal problem, Dr. Bence will direct you back to your obstetrician or midwife for the appropriate evaluation.
When Should I Start Prenatal Chiropractic Care?
Prenatal chiropractic care is appropriate throughout pregnancy when there are no complications that prevent treatment. Some women begin during the first trimester, especially if they already have back, neck or pelvic problems. Others begin later as changes in weight, posture and joint stability start creating discomfort. Dr. Bence believes there is an advantage to addressing mechanical problems before they become increasingly difficult to manage. Care is adjusted as your pregnancy progresses rather than following the same approach from the first trimester through delivery.
Why Do Pregnant Women See a Chiropractor?
Most expectant mothers seek chiropractic care because pregnancy is changing the way their body moves and feels. Common concerns include lower back pain, pelvic and hip discomfort, sacroiliac joint pain, sciatica, neck and mid-back tension, and difficulty getting comfortable while sleeping or performing everyday activities. Chiropractic care addresses the spinal, pelvic and muscular changes contributing to those problems so the body functions and moves more comfortably during pregnancy. This improved function supports the delivery process by helping shorten labor and make it more comfortable.
How Are Chiropractic Adjustments Modified During Pregnancy?
Prenatal chiropractic adjustments are adapted to both the stage of pregnancy and the individual patient. Dr. Bence uses gentle techniques and positions the mother comfortably while avoiding pressure on the abdomen. He has a special adjusting table for this purpose. Depending on what he finds during the examination, care focuses on areas of restricted movement, spinal and pelvic imbalance, joint stress and muscle tension. There is no one-size-fits-all pregnancy adjustment. The technique and amount of force are selected according to what your body needs at that visit.
What Is the Webster Technique?
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that focuses on the sacrum, pelvis and the surrounding muscles and ligaments. Its purpose is to identify and reduce mechanical imbalance in the pelvis so it moves and functions as normally as possible. Dr. Bence uses the technique as part of prenatal chiropractic care when his examination shows that it is appropriate. Webster is directed toward the mother’s pelvic mechanics. It is not a procedure in which the chiropractor physically attempts to turn the baby. The goal is to create a more relaxed, symmetrical space in the womb, so the baby can move into the best natural position for birth. The Webster technique is a specific chiropractic adjustment aimed at balancing the pelvis and reducing tension in the round ligaments.
Does the Webster Technique Turn a Breech Baby?
No chiropractor should promise to physically turn a breech baby with the Webster Technique. The adjustment is performed on the mother, not the baby. What Dr. Bence works to accomplish is better balance and movement within the pelvis and surrounding tissues. Giving the pelvis the best mechanics possible is worthwhile during pregnancy, but the baby’s position and decisions involving a breech presentation remain matters for the mother and her obstetric provider.
Does Prenatal Chiropractic Help With Sciatica?
Pregnancy places new stresses on the lower back, pelvis and gluteal muscles, all of which influence the area surrounding the sciatic nerve. When sciatic-type symptoms are related to those mechanical changes, Dr. Bence works on the spinal, pelvic and muscular problems contributing to the irritation. Care may include chiropractic adjustments, soft-tissue work and exercises to use between visits. Because leg pain has more than one possible cause, the examination is important before assuming that every pain traveling into the buttock or leg is sciatica.
How Often Should I See a Chiropractor While Pregnant?
There is no single schedule that applies to every pregnancy. Dr. Bence bases the frequency of care on what he finds during your examination, how far along you are, the symptoms you are experiencing and how your body responds to treatment. A mother dealing with significant pelvic or lower back pain requires a different approach from someone receiving periodic care to help maintain comfortable movement. Your care plan changes as your needs change.
Why Pregnancy Places So Much Stress on Your Back and Pelvis
The physical changes of pregnancy affect far more than the size of your abdomen. As your baby grows and your weight shifts forward, your body changes the way it stands, walks, sits and moves to compensate. Muscles that once shared the workload evenly begin working differently. Some tighten, others become overstretched, and additional stress develops through the lumbar spine, pelvis and hips.
Hormonal changes add another factor. Relaxin helps prepare the body for childbirth by allowing ligaments to become more flexible. That increased flexibility is important, but it also means the joints have less passive stability. The sacroiliac joints and other parts of the pelvis may become particularly sensitive as the surrounding muscles work harder to provide support.
“Pregnancy isn’t an injury. Your body is doing something remarkable, but it is also changing very quickly. My job is to help your spine and pelvis adapt to those changes as comfortably and naturally as possible.” Dr. Pavel Bence, DC, CCWP
Common Pregnancy Problems We Address
Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons pregnant women seek chiropractic care. A growing abdomen shifts the body’s center of gravity forward and increases the load placed on the lumbar spine. Muscles, ligaments and joints must compensate for that change every day. Chiropractic adjustments restore movement to restricted spinal and pelvic joints while helping reduce the mechanical stress contributing to pain and stiffness.
Pelvic and Sacroiliac Joint Pain
The pelvis has to adapt throughout pregnancy while carrying increasing weight and preparing for childbirth. Changes in posture combined with more flexible ligaments sometimes leave the sacroiliac joints feeling unstable, sore or irritated. Pain may be felt across the back of the pelvis, around the hips, near the pubic area or during movements such as walking, climbing stairs, rolling over in bed or getting out of a car. Dr. Bence often takes the time to explain how to do movements during pregnancy to avoid stress to your body. For example, he can explain how to effectively enter and exit a car.
Dr. Bence evaluates how the pelvis is moving rather than treating pelvic pain as though every expectant mother has the same problem. Restoring balanced movement and addressing the surrounding muscles helps improve stability and makes everyday activities more comfortable.
Symphysis Pubis Discomfort
The pubic symphysis is the joint at the front of the pelvis. Pregnancy-related ligament changes and altered pelvic mechanics sometimes create significant discomfort in this area, particularly while walking, standing on one leg, climbing stairs or turning in bed. When the problem is mechanical, gentle chiropractic techniques help improve pelvic alignment and movement while reducing unnecessary strain through the joint and surrounding tissues.
Round Ligament and Muscular Tension
As the uterus expands, supporting ligaments and muscles are placed under increasing tension. Sudden changes in position, coughing, sneezing, laughing or walking sometimes trigger sharp or pulling sensations around the abdomen, groin or pelvis. Dr. Bence looks at the surrounding pelvic mechanics and muscle tension and addresses the areas that are placing additional stress on the mother’s body.
Sciatic-Type Pain
Pain traveling from the lower back or buttock into the leg becomes especially frustrating during pregnancy because sitting, sleeping and walking may all aggravate it. Tight gluteal muscles, changes in pelvic mechanics, lumbar joint irritation and increased pressure through the area all contribute to sciatic-type symptoms. Treatment is directed at the source Dr. Bence identifies during the examination rather than simply treating the location where the pain is felt.
Neck, Rib and Mid-Back Tension
Postural changes do not stop at the lower back. As the body compensates for the growing abdomen, tension often develops farther up the spine as well. Changes through the rib cage, shoulders and neck create stiffness or aching that makes sleeping and everyday movement more difficult. Prenatal chiropractic care addresses these areas as part of the overall mechanical changes taking place throughout pregnancy.
How Dr. Bence Treats Expectant Mothers in Macomb
Your Examination Comes First
Prenatal care begins with understanding both your pregnancy and the problem bringing you into the office. Dr. Bence reviews your health history, current symptoms, previous injuries and any concerns you have discussed with your obstetrician or midwife. He then performs the orthopedic, neurological and palpatory examinations appropriate to your condition and evaluates the movement of your spine and pelvis.
Those findings determine your treatment plan. Pregnancy itself does not dictate how often you should be adjusted or which technique should be used. Care is based on what Dr. Bence finds, what you are experiencing and how your body responds.
Gentle Chiropractic Adjustments
As pregnancy progresses, positioning and adjustment techniques change with it. Supportive cushions and pregnancy-appropriate positions allow Dr. Bence to work comfortably without placing pressure on the abdomen. Adjustments are directed toward restricted or poorly functioning joints in the spine and pelvis to restore better movement and reduce the stress those restrictions place on the surrounding muscles and nerves.
Keeping the pelvis moving well is particularly important to Dr. Bence’s approach. The pelvis provides the structural foundation for many of the changes taking place through the lower spine during pregnancy. When one area stops moving properly, the surrounding joints and muscles have to compensate, which is often where discomfort begins.
The Webster Technique and Pelvic Balance
When Dr. Bence finds restricted movement or imbalance involving the sacrum, pelvis and surrounding soft tissues, the Webster Technique gives him a specific way to address those mechanics during pregnancy. His focus is on improving pelvic movement, reducing mechanical stress and helping the joints, muscles and ligaments work together more effectively.
As with every prenatal adjustment, Dr. Bence uses Webster according to what he finds during the examination rather than simply because a patient is pregnant. The goal is to give the mother the best possible pelvic function as her body continues to change and prepare for birth.
Prenatal Massage and Soft-Tissue Work
Chiropractic and massage work particularly well together during pregnancy because changing spinal mechanics and changing muscle tension are closely connected. Denise, our massage therapist, specializes in prenatal massage and positions expectant mothers comfortably on their side with supportive pillows.
Massage helps release muscles that have become tight from compensating for the growing abdomen, including the psoas and muscles surrounding the lower back, hips and pelvis. Reducing that tension helps the body move more freely and complements the structural work accomplished through chiropractic adjustments.
Movement Matters During Pregnancy
When your back or pelvis hurts, the natural response is often to move less. Unless your maternity provider has instructed you otherwise, maintaining appropriate movement is important during pregnancy. Walking, stretching and exercises selected for your particular needs help preserve mobility, strengthen supporting muscles and prevent stiffness from adding to the problem.
Dr. Bence incorporates practical home recommendations when they support your treatment. The purpose is not to make you dependent on adjustments. It is to help your body handle the changing demands of pregnancy as well as possible both inside and outside the office.
When Pregnancy Pain Needs Medical Attention
Not every ache during pregnancy comes from the spine, muscles or pelvis. Contact your obstetrician, midwife or appropriate medical provider promptly for vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, regular contractions before term, fever, severe or sudden abdominal or pelvic pain, significant dizziness, vision changes, reduced fetal movement or other symptoms your maternity team has told you to watch for.
Progressive leg weakness, loss of sensation, difficulty walking or a sudden change in bowel or bladder control also requires prompt evaluation. Dr. Bence’s role is to recognize when a problem belongs in his office and when it does not. Good prenatal care includes knowing the difference.
Prenatal Chiropractic Care That Changes With You
No two pregnancies are exactly alike, and chiropractic care should reflect that. What feels comfortable in the first trimester may need to change as your belly grows, your posture changes and your joints become more flexible. Dr. Bence continually adapts care to what he finds and to what your body needs at that point in your pregnancy.
For more than 40 years, his approach to chiropractic has remained centered on the individual patient rather than a predetermined treatment formula. During pregnancy, that means gentle care, careful attention to spinal and pelvic mechanics, and a genuine concern for helping you move through this important stage of life as comfortably as possible.
Ready to Feel More Comfortable During Your Pregnancy?
If lower back pain, pelvic discomfort, sciatica or other pregnancy-related changes are making everyday life harder, we’re here to help. Bence Chiropractic Wellness Center provides gentle prenatal chiropractic care for expectant mothers in Macomb and the surrounding communities.
Call us at (586) 978-9900 to schedule your visit. Walk-in appointments are always welcome.
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